Best energy saver
“Motion sensors on our lights in our warehouse. Surprisingly it has saved a lot of money [too].”
—Brent Craig, Douglas County Schools, Castle Rock, Colo.
The best sustainability solutions
(Ranked from low tech to high tech)
- Reusable mugs
- Restaurant-quality dishware
- Shadow-box frames to label recycling/compost bins
- Local milk
- Food Day program (like Earth Day)
- Meatless Mondays
- Packaging reduction solutions
- Half-pallets for loading food to deliver to schools
- Digital signage
- Food pulper
- Program that formulates waste data
Best multi-tasking kitchen tools
“Spoodles used for serving.”
—Brent Craig, Douglas County Schools, Castle Rock, Colo.
Best waste-reduction technique
"Educating foodservice staff to help students choose foods they know they will eat instead of taking those they don’t want. “We went from 51 percent per-plate waste in several schools down to 13 and 21 percent per-plate waste due to education and making better choices.”
—Gay Anderson, Brandon Valley School District, Brandon, S.D.
Best community collaboration
“We purchase organic whole wheat/sourdough pizza crust from a local bakery.”
—Roger Knysh, Berkshire Health Systems, Pittsfield, Mass.